Kwalholhi Spaza Shop in Samora Machel township near Phillipi, could be one of the beneficiaries of the businesses to benefit from the R500 million fund availed by government. Picture: Henk Kruger/IndependentNewspapers
Justice Minister Thembi Simelane has announced government will establish a R500 million joint fund to support township and rural businesses, including spaza shops.
The fund will also look at local convenience shops or spaza shops given the recent food poisoning outbreak across the country.
Government is looking to create interventions to help mitigate the uptick in foodborne illnesses in South Africa.
Simelane said the departments tasked with overseeing the joint fund are in the process of drafting standard operating procedures and guidelines on the use and accountability of the fund.
“In the short term, approved rural and township businesses will be supported through this fund to improve their infrastructure, regulatory compliance and capacity building,” she explained.
“The operational fund application and disbursement process will commence as soon as the registration process is completed and will be subjected to ongoing auditing processes as an early warning system against potential anomalies and fraudulent activities.”
The Minister said in order to qualify for the fund, a business owner must be a South African citizen operating within the borders of the country and serving local communities.
Additionally, the company must be registered with the local municipality in accordance and have valid registration with the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Simelane said that the fund will prioritise entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years, with much emphasis on female-owned businesses.
“The Department of Small Business Development has started a process to create a nerve centre with geo-mapping capacity to centralise data on the township and rural economy,” she added.
“A national database of registered small businesses and spaza shops will strengthen our capacity to regulate the sector and to ensure effective compliance to avoid the recurrence of future outbreaks”.
Delving further into the issue, Simelane emphasised that every shop owner who is a legitimate trader and meets the legal requirements is allowed to conduct business.
“In processing these applications for registration, the government will make every effort to ensure that account is taken of every legal prescript that allows people to do business in the country,” she noted.
IOL BUSINESS